Japanese Sushi Chain Forks Over $736K For 530-Pound Tuna At Auction

It’s payback time for Japan, after the best catch of the year went to a foreign buyer three years in a row. But this year, sushi lovers there will get a chance to taste part of a record $736,000, approximately 530-lb bluefin tuna, as a local company won the fish at auction. They’re also giving back to their fellow citizens by not charging exorbitant prices for the special catch.

In order to break even on their splurge, Sushi Zanmai would have to charge around $74 per piece of fish for each of the roughly 10,000 pieces they’ll sell. Instead, they’ll offer up pieces for between approximately $2-$5.

“It is an auspicious occasion, so we bought the tuna without any thought of making a profit,” said Hiroshi Umehara, spokesman for privately-held Kiyomura. He added that he wanted to do something good for his country, which suffered extensive damage from the tsunami and ensuing earthquake last year.

“I pray for the recovery of the disaster areas to continue and I hope that this year will be a better year for each and every citizen,” he said.

Treating your fellow countrymen to some delectable, discounted sushi is a nice way to show your appreciation.

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Makes me crave for all you can eat sushi. Definitely not high quality fish, but it’s good enough with wasabi. If I ever visit Japan, my first meal is going to be sushi, just so I can taste the difference.

You don’t need to break the bank either! Even the kaitenzushi places in Japan are better than most of what you’ll eat in the US. Conveyer-belt sushi places are trendy here, but they’re considered low on the sushi totem pole in Japan, so they’re a great place for a cheap and delicious lunch.

“In order to break even on their splurge, Sushi Zanmai would have to charge around $74 per piece of fish for each of the roughly 10,000 pieces they’ll sell. Instead, they’ll offer up pieces for between approximately $2-$5.”

The catch is that this story didn’t take place in our ever benevolent corporatocracy here in the good ol’ USA. Here they would have been generous enough to charge $500 a piece and then watch our collective glee as we waited for the profits to trickle down.

Fair enough on the voluntary aspect. Certainly the 1% has a right to eat like the 1%. However, are you in turn defending trickle down economics as something that applies to reality, or just brushing past that?

Marketing. The sushi chain gets worldwide media coverage for the paltry sum of $700k. That amount would only pay for about 1/5 of a Superbowl ad, with arguably better marketing results (message of this company restoring national pride and performing a benevolent act broadcast around the world for free).

Wow. In one of the most expensive places to buy anything, that is really generous. I can’t even get $2 sushi at my grocery store, so getting fine and genuine sushi from a catch like that for such a good deal is pretty sweet.